


He Loves You...

by I_Regret_Nothing_666



Category: Heroes of Olympus - Fandom
Genre: Bonding, Boys In Love, Depression, M/M, Nightmares, No sex/smut, Nothing graphic (rape) no detail at all, Past Child Abuse, fluff!, kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-11
Updated: 2017-10-11
Packaged: 2019-01-08 18:02:13
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12259344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Regret_Nothing_666/pseuds/I_Regret_Nothing_666
Summary: Leo finds out about Nico's past abuse. And is determined to help him. They soon become friends.. will that turn into something more?....((Based on 'Reach out for you (break these walls) written by Utsukushin))





	He Loves You...

Leo was having a bad day. It was one of those days that the depression got him down, really bad. So he decided to spend the day in Bunker 9, because all of his cabin mates were out chariot racing. He thought no one would bother him. He was wrong. Lately, Nico di Angelo had been seeking him out. He didn't mind, of course. Maybe because Leo had a little crush on him. He and Nico were the loners. They had no one. Except Nico had Hazel, and Leo had Jason. But that was it.  
Anyway, Leo was tinkering with a monster proof phone he was building. He was going to make one for the Seven+Nico, but first he needed to make a working model. When he heard the door open, he didn't look up. He knew who it was. "Hey, Nico." "Hey there Leo. What are you making?" He asked politely.  
"Nothin'" Leo grunted. He knew he was being bratty but he couldn't help it. He tried to shove it in his pocket, but Nico was too quick. He snatched the phone, and something inside of Leo just snapped.  
"GIVE IT BACK!" He yelled, as he flew at Nico, arm raised, ready to hit him, when something extremely surprising and disturbing happened. He expected Nico to step back, or fight Leo. Because both boys knew that if they were to get into a fight, Nico would win. Leo expected him to do anything with it to make sure that he was still holding the electronic, but he didn't. Nico looked shocked when Leo suddenly flew towards him. His eyes widened for a split second before he flinched back violently, and threw his arms over his head. Leo ground to a halt mere inches away, hand still raised, but Nico didn't look up. He sat curling into himself, trembling jerkily in a way that was reminiscent of Jason when he had flashbacks. Nico was trying to make himself smaller, to bury his head deeper in his knees, and Leo's heart froze in his chest. His anger dissipated like an exploded firework, Leo let his hand fall limply to his side, mind blurring with static. When he tried to speak, nothing came out but a choked noise, so he tried again. "Nico.." Leo breathed. "Neeks, I'm not going to hurt you.." He whispered. The Ghost King started at the sound of Leo's voice and he slowly peeked out of his arm shield. The raw vulnerability in his expression shook Leo to the core but he said nothing, Nico stared back at Leo for a few seconds before he jumped up. "Did you think I was actually going to hit you?"  
"Of course not," he spat sarcastically, "You came flying at me in a rage. I thought you going to kiss me." Leo blushed. Nico threw the unfinished phone at Leo before he shadow-traveled away. Leo stared at the empty spot where Nico was just stood, mind racing. Nico’s first reaction to a threat was always to reach for his sword, or put up his fists when it wasn't available, not...whatever that was. Leo wasn't stupid. He knew where instincts like that come from, but doesn't want to believe that such a thing happened to Nico. He ran to the nearest fountain. He need to know. “Hazel?” he murmured quietly, timidly picking at his suspenders. "Hey Leo!" She was cheerful. Great. "You alright?" "Hey Hazel. Can I ask you something?"  
"Of course, fire away."  
“There’s no good way to ask this but, was Nico ever... abused as a kid?”

Hazel dragged her hands over her face and sighed, as she leant forward to rest her elbows on her knees. Her eyes grew distant, and for a moment she stared at the floor in silence. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft and defeated.

“Yeah.”  
Leo's heart broke.  
"What about Bianca?" He whispered  
"No. Not her. Just... Just him."  
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 

When he was younger, Leo had had a friend. His name was Erick. Leo and Erick's moms were friends, and because they were the same age they should've hit it off. But they didn't. Erick was a quiet boy, and didn't talk much, and Leo did. However, at the end of their first play date, Leo had gone in for a goodbye hug, because that was good manners. But Erick had yelped and dived into the nearest corner, trying to protect himself. Then Erick's mother had walked in. Leo apologised over and over again for scaring Erick, even though his mom said it wasn't his fault. When Erick had left, it took Leo about ten minutes before he asked about the incident. He thought his mother would be angry with him, but she just laughed and told him she was surprised that it had taken this long for him to ask. "Why did he do that, Mommy?" He asked. His mother had explained to him that Erick was a foster kid, and that people in his last home had hurt him. She called had called it 'child abyoose' Leo was quite smart for his age, and knew that Erick was scared that other people would hurt him. This made Leo very sad. "But, Momma, why would anyone want to hurt Erick?" He asked, his mothers face fell.  
"Because, mi amor, some people out there are very, very cruel. But I won't let them get you. I promise." He smiled. He knew he was safe. But when his mother died, and he was put into the system he was always on the look out for Erick. He was never there. Leo sometimes wondered what happened to him. Leo remembered how he had been upset when Erick did not improve right away. He wanted Erick to be happy, but he was still scared months later and Leo had felt helpless. His mother had pulled him aside gently and given him advice in dealing with these kinds of situations, words that echoed in Leo's mind.

“Be patient, Sonny. Don’t try to fix them. Don’t expect them to change or meet a certain criteria, because everyone is different. Even if you never see a change, at least YOU were the one to show them love.”

Leo's mind drifted back to Nico and he sighed again, he turned to face the wall.

“I’ll try, Momma” he whispers. “I promise.” He knew that Nico wouldn't want to talk to him yet. Or ever. But he needed to at least try. That night Leo went to the campfire. Surprise, surprise Nico wasn't there. But he was waiting for Leo when he returned. "HOLY MOTHER OF JESUS. You scared the crap out of me!" He yelped  
"Sorry." Nico replied.  
"S'fine" Leo coughed awkwardly. When all of a sudden, it all got too much. His depression, and the fact he had been thinking about his mom. Nico and his... past. He just couldn't take it. He hoped Nico wouldn't judge him. Leo burst into tears. He saw that Nico panicked, not knowing what to do. Nico shuffled over to where Leo was standing. He patted Leo on the back very awkwardly. "Uhhm.... There, there?" He said it as a question, which made Leo laugh slightly. "I'm sorry about that." He said wiping his tears away.  
"Why are you sorry?" Nico questioned, but he didn't wait for an answer. "It's alright to cry. It doesn't make you less of anything. Sometimes you just need to let it out. Some people cry, some hit things, some try and hide it with humour." He stared pointedly at Leo at the last one. Leo absentmindedly pulled out the unfinished phone. "W-We could do that, if you wanted." Nico murmured awkwardly.  
"What? Oh, this?" He said gesturing to the phone. Nico nodded. Leo's face lit up. He very rarely had someone he could talk to about his work, and if he could actually teach Nico... "Yes! Let's do it! I can teach you everything I know!" Nico smiled. He loved seeing Leo blab about something that he loved. An hour and a half later Leo had finished his lesson. Nico was a lot better at engineering than Leo thought, and by the end of it they had finally created a successful working model of the phone. "Now, the only thing left is to make you look the part."  
"Uhh, what?" Nico asked. He didn't sign up for this. But Leo was heading towards a shelf, where they kept the oil. Leo picked up the pot of oil and brought it back over to Nico. He dabbed some war paint onto his own face, then he turned to Nico. "Close your eyes." He said.  
"I....Do I have to?" He whispered timidly.  
"Um no, just make sure that it doesn't go in your eyes." Leo replied. Nico blushed furiously as Leo's warm hands darted across his cheeks delicately, though not once did his eyes leave Leo's. "Th-There. All done" Leo squeaked. It had taken him a while to realise just how close he was to the boy. "Uhum, thanks Leo." Nico had tried to sound manly. But he couldn't. His voice had failed him right when he needed it. Leo almost giggled, the little noise Nico had made was so cute. Leo had to step back to admire his work. "What did you do?" Nico asked suspiciously. Leo was gaping. He never knew that he was good at art, "Leo?"  
"Follow me!" Leo smiled. He pulled Nico into the bathroom and pointed to the mirror. Nico gasped. "Leo it's... it's beautiful! How did you do that?"  
"Actually I dunno." He grinned at the black swirls and dots splattered over Nico's cheeks and nose. "Wow..." he breathed. Nico rolled up his sleeves and ripped a hair tie off of his wrist. He didn't manage to get his different lengthed, fluffy fringe into his ponytail, but his hair had been growing, so he managed to get it into a small ponytail. Leo loved a ponytail. He blushed slightly. "Thanks Leo, we should do this again some time. Next time, it's my turn." For some reason this comment made Leo's knees go weak.  
"Sure! See you Nico!" Nico smiled and turned to leave when Leo stopped him, "Hey Nico,"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm really, really sorry about earlier. I was having a terrible day. It was my fault not yours."  
"I was actually here to tell you about this new training exercise that Chiron came up with. Something about 'mind melding', but sure. I'm sorry about leaving you like that. We good?" He held out his hand for Leo to shake.  
The thing is, Leo knew Nico wasn’t big on physical touch. He allowed the occasional hand on the shoulder (as long as he knew it was coming), or the clasp of a supporting hand or arm when needed during battle, but nothing else. The line they were treading over then, a new tentative brand of closeness, felt like a milestone somehow.

It was a fragile thing, and Leo could feel it waver on brittle legs between them. A single breath could make it crash and burn, but it didn't. Nico was smiling, and Leo felt better than he had in a long time. He shook the cold hand that belonged to the Ghost King. "We're good." Nico grinned, turned on his heel, and left.

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 

They were ambushed. Frank, Nico and Percy were on a quest to find and kill a cyclops that was causing panic and killing mortals. It was supposed to be simple. Leo wasn't there, so he he didn't really know what happened, but he heard that the cyclops had been bait. There was about 15 of them. They'd fought well, but apparently Hades had done something to piss them off. They tied Percy and Frank up, and flayed Nico to within an inch of his life. No one went into details about it, but Nico had had to spend 2 weeks in the infirmary. And he still wasn't fully healed. Leo walked into the shower rooms. He was alone. He slipped into a cubicle. He enjoyed a very long shower. He turned the water off and wrapped a towel around his waist. He missed the Argo II and their personal shower rooms. He pulled his underwear on, and then his jeans and suspenders. He left his shirt off, however. Because he thought he was still alone. He almost wet himself when he realised he wasn't. He walked out of his cubicle, and there on the bench was Nico. Leo didn't know what to do first. Should he scream from the fright? Should he hug him and tell him he missed him? He went with the first one. It wasn't even a manly one. Nico looked up in surprise, but part of Leo wished that he hadn't. He was covered in cuts and bruises. He has two black eyes. Leo had never seen him worse. "Neeks..." Leo whispered. "You're okay? I haven't seen you in two weeks! Are you okay now? Should you be in the infirmary?" It took him a little too long to realise that, just like him, Nico had no top on. Leo saw something purple creeping over Nico's shoulder onto his collar bone. "Leo! I'm so happy-" he didn't get to finish. "Turn around."  
"What?" Nico was obviously confused and scared.  
"I'm not going to hurt you. Please... just turn around." Leo whimpered. Nico slowly turned away from Leo, but he was still watching him out of the corner of his eye. Leo gasped and took a step back.  
"W-What did..." his voice cracked, "What did they DO to you?" Leo croaked.  
"It was a whip." Nico rasped. "The pain, Leo. Will tried to heal them, but he couldn't. You can't tell anyone about these. Swear it. On the River Styx."  
"I-I swear." You couldn't see any pale skin left on Nico's back. It was a nebula of brutal bruising. It was like Nico had gone paintballing, and his back was the only target. Purples, pinks, blues and mottled greens. The absolute pain Nico must've been in, then to shadow-travel them back to camp.... "Hey, um, Chiron gave me this tonic that's really good for bruises. I could help you.... like, only if you want. It worked for me." Leo was desperate for a change of subject. Nico eyed him suspiciously, before saying, "Okay." Leo sat down in front of the weary demigod. He pulled a small pot out of his pocket and scooped out some of the Vaseline-like tonic. Leo knew that this was a privilege, and that he really didn't need to mess this up. Nico's back was as stiff as a board. Leo started with the worst bruises first, however his whole back just screamed pain. His fingers found a path over the swirling nebula of bruises and white scars that were flecked around Nico's back. It was a galaxy of sadistic artwork. Nico's skin was cold and damp, and as Leo's hands moved the Ghost King relaxed, hunched over until his head hung low, back arched in a long curve. It had been ages since the tonic had actually been applied, but Leo was still gently rubbing Nico's back. His fingers found their way to a particularly nasty bruise. He outlined the black and blue rim of it with is long finger, before he he bent over and pressed his lips lightly against it. Nico went stiff again. Leo jumped up, and gathered up his things. He thought he ruined all of their progress . What had he done? Why did he do that? What- "Thank you, Leo." Nico thanked softy.  
"N-No problem. See you around, yeah?"  
"Yeah." Leo turned and left. 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Leo was exited to try the mind melding. Chiron had promised that there wouldn't be anyone or anything trying to kill you. No fighting. No exercise in general. Which was very good. He wandered up to the Big House where Hazel, Frank, Jason, Percy and Annabeth were waiting. They had come all the way from Camp Jupiter just for this exercise. Wow. Piper and Nico joined them not long after. Hazel kept eyeing her brother. It was obvious that she was worried about him. Nico himself seemed extremely jumpy and eager to get this over and done with. They all sat in a circle. Nico was on his left, Jason was on his right. They all had to put funny looking helmets on, and according to Chiron, these would allow them to mind-meld. After about 5 minutes of relaxing an image appeared in the middle of the circle. It was from the point of view of a small child, who had blue cake icing all over it's hands. They were watching Percy's memories. Percy himself looked extremely content, and a small smile was playing on his lips. This lasted about another 5 minutes, when it disappeared. Another image took it's place. This time it was of a boy with blonde hair, and a girl with black hair. He handed the child ,whose point of view it was, a golden dagger. He said something about family. Annabeth. She too, looked happy. When all of a sudden Leo felt a small tug in the back of his mind, and one of his happiest memories surfaced one again. He and his mom were working in their workshop. They were laughing and joking around with each other. It was a normal day before her accident. Leo had never felt such happiness. His thoughts were interrupted by a small whimper from somewhere to his left. He opened his eyes and looked. Nico's eyebrows were scrunched together, as if he was trying very hard to forget something. He was biting his lip so hard it was starting to bleed. The tug released Leo's mind but latched onto Nico's. Another scene took Leo's ones place. It was from the point of view of another child, about eleven or twelve, when a rough hand grabbed their thin wrist and pulled hard. There was a tiny, heartbreaking cry as the image blurs with movement, stopping abruptly when the child is flung into a wall. There is the sound of a door slamming, and small, panting breaths as the figure cradles a bruised wrist. A deep voice echoed through the walls. "Now you'll behave yourself. We don't want another... accident, do we?" The child didn't answer. "DO WE?" It growled. The child let out a defiant growl back. The scene ended with the door reopening. It all happened in a matter of seconds, and when it was over they all sat, stunned.

“Who was that?” Jason asked quietly, but Leo was already looking at Nico. The Ghost King's fists were clenched in his lap and he was struggling to maintain his composure. Silent glances passed between the other demigods, but Hazel was the one to speak first.

“Nico-”

Before she got the words out Nico jolted to life, apparatus was still on his head as he clambered to his feet.

“Nico, please don’t leave,” Hazel said calmly. “The whole purpose of this is to be able to open up to-”

Nico clutched his head and another scene flashed before their eyes. A large hand was around the same child’s throat, and forced them down, while slight cries were muffled by another hand that was clamped over the child's face. He spoke again. "You will learn. Even if I have to take you back in there again," the man gestured behind him to an open door. It led to a bedroom. "You. Will. Learn." The scene ended. And the extent of Nico's abuse suddenly became clear to Leo. It wasn't just physical.

Piper gasped sharply, her hands flew to her mouth, and Leo was reeling. Nico ripped off the headpiece like it had burned him. He looked at Piper with a horrified expression on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he said brokenly. “I didn’t want…”

Pain filled his eyes as he tore them away from the daughter of Aphrodite. He stumbled towards the door. Leo was on his feet in a second and he rushed to follow him.

“Wait!” he pleaded. He reached out to grab Nico's arm, but only managed to graze the aviator sleeve before Nico snatched the limb away.

“Don’t touch me!” he snarled, his body coiled like a snake ready to strike. "Nico...please" Leo pleaded. Nico glared at him for a couple of seconds, before he grabbed Leo's arm and dragged him away from the Big House. He dragged Leo to Zues' fist, always checking behind him to make sure that they weren't being followed. He threw Leo down onto the ground, and crawled into his lap. Leo was surprised, but extremely honoured.  
He talked of loneliness, of places too large and cold for children, of that house with faces and names that were never home. His words filled the inky blackness with beatings and hard floors, of shattering glass and other harsh, cruel things that danced in front of Leo’s eyes in vivid clarity. Nico’s voice wavered and broke when he talked of pain-filled touches, of wanting nothing more than a single finger laid on him in love. How Bianca had been cruelly ripped away. How if she would've been okay, this would've never happened. How he had learned to fight back, to paint the cruel red colour on others, to be faster and stronger.

Leo wanted to scream but he didn't, he just held Nico and rubbed soothing circles on his back. Finally the tale was done, and Nico's voice faltered trying to find words, his warm breath caressed Leo’s chest.

“I didn’t…” he stammered quietly. “I never...until you.”

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 

Debriefings were always exhausting, at least in Leo's humble opinion. What better thing to do immediately after a hard battle than to gather in the Big House in sticky, sweaty armor and talk about it?

He blinked rapidly to keep himself awake as Chiron and Annabeth rambled on about what went right and what went wrong, until Leo couldn't tell the difference between them. He always suffered really bad with ADHD, and he was struggling. He knew what they were saying was important, and he appreciated their enthusiasm, but he was so tired he barely remembered his name.

He was just thinking that if he used the little energy he had left, and set himself on fire maybe he could leave, when something brushed against the back of his hand. Leo looked over to see that Nico had moved closer to his side. The other boy was looking away shyly, with a faint blush is stained across his cheeks. Ever since the 'confession' Nico was very trusting of Leo. Leo hadn't told anyone about what Nico had said to him, not even Hazel. They regularly met up, and used Leo's oil to draw on each other faces, Leo had called it 'FaceTime'. Nico had even started to let Leo paint his nails. Last time Leo had even used Nico's leg as a pillow, and he had slept there for a while. He had been a bit stiff at first, but he soon relaxed. They were making so much progress, and Leo was so proud of Nico, even if it was only Leo that he was comfortable with. And Leo was pretty sure he was in love. So Leo reached out and took the offered hand, entwining their fingers together. He didn't openly look at Nico, so as not to draw attention to themselves, but in his peripheral he could see Nico’s expression relax, the tension in his shoulders slowly unwinded. Nico was pressed so close to him that their joined hands were hidden between them, away from the eyes of the seven, and Leo admitted he felt much better with Nico’s warmth beside him.

Leo's thumb rubbed circles into the back of Nico's hand, and Nico sighed almost soundlessly, his tired body leant more against Leo's own. The voices droned on and the fire crackled in the small fireplace with the occasional small yawn from Mr D's lepord but Leo’s world was as small as the hand in his.  
~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 

Surprisingly, drawing on each other's faces had become a routine for Leo and Nico. Nico had started to trust Leo just enough to let himself close his eyes. Leo, on the other hand always had his open. Leo was always excited when it was his turn. He adored watching Nico stick him tongue out in concentration, it was so cute. During their fourth “FaceTime,” Nico fell asleep on Leo's lap.

Leo had been painting his own nails, sitting criss-cross on the floor, when Nico had tentatively shuffled onto his legs like a shy cat. Leo was surprised at first but didn’t comment, allowing Nico the freedom to get comfortable. They hadn’t been talking much, simply enjoying the easy silence of each other's company, and no sooner had Nico gotten settled than he quickly fell asleep.

It had been several minutes and Leo found himself enjoying the warmth of Nico’s body against his. The shorter boy was lying on his stomach over Leo’s crossed legs, head rested on Leo's thigh and face smushed into the Leo's stomach. His arm was loosely draped around Leo's hips, legs sprawled out on the floor to Leo's left. Leo had actually had to move some pieces of equipment away from Nico's legs because he kept kicking out and whimpering. But after a few hushed reassurances From Leo, Nico soon settled down. Leo wondered if this boy ever got enough sleep.

He finished the last nail, and he set aside the closed bottle, and he leant back on his hands to watch Nico sleep. He assured himself it wasn’t creepy at all--The Ghost King just looked insanely cute with his hair sliding over his cheek. The sight reminded Leo of a kitten, and a small, tender smile grew on his face.

Nico was wearing one of Leo's jumpers. He claimed that it was because always cold, but Leo thought it was because it was to big for him. It warmed Leo's already boiling hot heart to know that Nico felt okay with wearing comfy clothes, more over, Leo's comfy clothes. He wore a pair of black sweat pants and he looked so cute. Leo had tried very hard to make him relax, it must have paid off because he certainly looked relaxed. Barefoot and sprawled over Leo, and his jumper had riden up and exposed a rather large strip of pale skin. It was hands down the most vulnerable state Leo had ever seen him in.

Nico's face was slack and utterly peaceful, and Leo reached over to brush Nico's dark hair away from his eyes. There was a long scar running across his hairline, which was usually concealed by his choppy fringe, and Leo thumbed it softly, as his breath caught as the sheer weight of what was happening hit him like a ton of bricks.

Nico had willingly come to him. He had put himself completely at the mercy of another person, at peace with being defenseless and in Leo’s care. The knowledge of what he had been entrusted with, that he was finally holding in his hands Nico’s precious gift of trust…it broke him.

The first crack appeared in his heart as fat tears began to roll down his face. His lungs filled with a heavy, liquid sorrow, leaving him choking with the effort to reign in sobs that might wake Nico up. He Drew in a shuddered breath, he sat forward and moved his right hand to Nico’s hair, hunched over and curled the other around Nico's back and shoulders.

Leo lost track of time as he cried silently, his tears left dark spots where they fell on his jumper. His lips trembled as the emotional build-up of the last few months bore down on him, but Nico slept innocently on, unaware of the turmoil Leo was going through.

Leo heard light footsteps outside the door of the Bunker. He looked up to see Piper enter the room. When she noticed the two of them she nearly dropped her dagger.

“What’s wrong, Leo? Is Nico alright?” she asked, rushing over to them in panic. Leo shook his head quickly so as not to worry her.

“Nothing, he’s ok,” he replied, “It’s alright, he’s just sleeping.” He wiped his face in attempt to clear away the tears, but the rebellious things kept on coming. Piper's expression softened and she knelt down beside the two boys, putting a hand on Leo's arm.

“Wow,” she breathed, and Leo nodded, smiling brilliantly through his tears.

“Yeah,” he choked out. Piper rested her head on Leo's shoulder and they sat in silence for a while, each in their own thoughts. Leo's tears had slowed by the time she spoke up again.

”He’s doing better you know, we all notice it,” she says quietly. “Whatever you’re doing for him...it’s working.”

“All of us have helped in some way,” Leo whispered. But sadly he knew that wasn't true. Nico had come to HIM, not anyone else. He was honoured.

“No we haven't. We tried, but you’re special. You’ve made a difference in ways we couldn’t,” she insisted. Leo swallowed thickly, as he ran his fingers through Nico's hair.

“I love him, Piper,” he murmured. “I love him so much.”

“I know,” she says.

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

Amidst the craziness of their lives Leo noticed subtle changes, over time.

Nico accepted an arm thrown around his shoulder without flinching; a plate can fall without him jumping out of his boots. It’s not as if Leo was keeping track of these instances, or even that he always realised them, but some things he couldn't help but notice.

One day, Leo was working on Festus' body. He was hoping to fix the dragon that meant so much to him. When he heard his name being called he turned to find Nico with a smile on his face. Gods, did that boy's smile light up the world. He looked genuinely happy and Leo opened his mouth to ask why, but Nico’s arms were already around him. The hug was quick and warm, fingers dug into Leo's shirt before released, and Nico turned and left the Bunker as if nothing happened. Something like sunshine settled in Leo’s chest as he hummed in amusement. He shook his head before returning to work. He was starting to realise just how that "little crush" had grown over the months. He knew by the way his heart skipped a beat every time he saw the son of Hades what he felt. He was pretty sure he was in love.

Some time later Leo was lounging on the Hephaestus bench in the dining pavilion. He had been working overtime on Festus, and completely forgot about dinner. The only other person there was Percy. He felt a presence behind him. Before he could even move his head, two extremely pale hands settled on his shoulders and Nico was leaning over him, and he pressed a feather-light kiss to Leo's cheekbone.

Leo’s brain short-circuited. He froze instantly. He was blushing like mad as his heart wavered between stopping entirely or careening out of his chest. A second later Nico was gone, making a beeline for the exit while Percy, the traitor, giggled into his drink.

“If it makes you feel any better, he was just as red,” he said, as Leo groans and dropped his burning face into his knees. 

 

~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•~•

 

Leo stumbled off of Festus. "YEEEAAAH WE WON! We... We won!" He hollered. Festus clicked something that sounded like `Nows your chance! Kiss him!’ What? He looked to his left and saw Percy and Annabeth kissing. Ew. He looked to his right and he saw Hazel and Frank kissing. Double ew. He looked behind him and saw Jason and Piper trying to eat each other's faces. Ew, ew, ew, ew. He looked straight ahead. There he was. Alone as well. He barrelled towards the son of Hades. Nico saw him coming. There was no flinch, just a lopsided grin. He crashed into Nico so fast they fell onto the floor, he wrapped his arms around Nico's back, and Nico squeezed him back, just as hard. "We made it! We lived!" Leo cried out, "Heck yeah, we did." Nico smiled into the crook of Leo's neck, before he continued much quieter, "Thank you, Leo." He sounded sincere. Leo almost said, 'what for?' But deep down, he knew. Suddenly he decided that Nico wasn't close enough, even though they were cuddling on the floor. He removed his hands from Nico's back, and placed them either side of Nico's shoulders. He bent lower, slowly. He was waiting for Nico to push him off. But he didn't. As soon as Leo felt their breath mingle into one, he looked up, silently asking for permission. Nico's answer was by threading his fingers through Leo's curly hair, and bringing his face down the rest of the way. Leo had never felt so awesome and relieved in his life. Nico tasted like the fresh rain and smoke from a bonfire. It was the best taste in the world. Feelings that had been bottled up for months were finally released. They finally broke apart, panting. "I love you." Leo whispered between breaths. "I love you too." Nico smirked. "I knEW IT!" Piper yelled, happily. Leo yelped and rolled off of Nico to find everyone grinning at them. Nico sat up. "You're all just jealous," Leo said with difficulty (his lips were swollen) "Of my awesome boyfriend." Nico grinned. "Damn straight... well not really, but you know what I mean." With that they all cracked up laughing. And Leo was truly happy, for the first time in a long time.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to leave your opinions in the comments, please be honest! Sorry if it's terrible! X


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